And After
by La Magdalena
Summary: What happens after the credits roll? (unfinished)
1. I

**And After…******

Main Entry: **1af·ter**   
Pronunciation: 'af-t&r  
Function: _adverb_  
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English _æfter__;_

akin to Old High German _aftar_after, and probably to

Old English _of _of  
**:** following in time or place **:**** AFTERWARD, BEHIND,**

** LATER** we arrived shortly _after_ returned 20 years _after_

• • •

_I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry!_

She looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Nothing but pipes and steel. Nothing interesting for her to hang from or play with. She felt Ein shuffled somewhere in the room but was too hungry and too bored to look. She dropped her arms loudly on the floor and laid there, spread eagle, with a blank look on her face.

_I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry… _

Her mind babbled as her eyes clouded over from not having blinked in over four minutes. Another sigh escaped her lips, louder, more annoying and still nothing happened. The silent hum of the ship's engines was lulling her to sleep, and it would have succeeded too if it hadn't been for the hollow ache deep in her stomach.

"Hungry." She moaned quietly without realizing she was speaking out loud.

"Stop moping Ed." Jet called out from one of the other rooms on the ship.

"But–"

"No buts!"

"HUNGRY!" She exploded with all the energy she had left. "Ed's hungry Jet person."

Jet's head popped out from his bonsai room, a nasty frown on his brow. "Well I'm hungry too but there's nothing we can do about it until Faye comes with the food." Edward answered him with a sigh, not bothering to look in his direction.

"Instead of just laying there have you even tried contacting her?"

Ed nodded her head. "Yes, yes, yes. Ed tried but Faye-Faye not answer."

Now it was Jet's turn to sigh as his brow softened at the poor sight of Ed on the floor mumbling away. _She's delirious from hunger._ His own stomach complained with a growl. "Damn! Don't I ever learn? Why do I give that woman our money?" He mumbled to himself.

"Because Faye-Faye is Faye-Faye," was Ed's unwanted answer.

Jet hung his head and agreed with the girl. "Yeah, yeah. But if she's not here by twenty hundred hours she's out."

Ed grunted sarcastically.

Jet frowned at the lack of respect Ed was showing him. _Since when am I everyone's doormat around here?_ He pointed his index finger at her to emphasize his point. "Take my word for it Ed. If she's here even one minute late she's out! I don't care that she doesn't have anywhere to go. She's not going to change my mind like last time–"

"And the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that-"

"Ed!"

The girl didn't pay any attention to him and just kept on repeating the same phrase over and over again with a deep voice, no doubt in Jet's mind mocking him. He sighed and returned to his bonsai trees.

_Ed doesn't respect me. It's all Faye's fault and my fault in letting her get away with it. How many times has it been this month she's late with the food? Five? Six? Ten? _He picked up the tiny, screwed scissors he used to cut the tiny branches off the trees but his heart wasn't in it. Not with his stomach complaining like that. Jet couldn't remember going one month without being hungry at least once. _Why did I ever stop being a cop? At least then I had food on the table._

Their ship had been hovering over a city in Mars for the last two weeks. The trio had been chasing a bounty that had gotten away due to Ed's excessive excitement. Months and months of asking Jet to include her in the chase and what did Ed do? Mess it up before they even got there.

_Poor Ed. Poor, poor Ed._

Edward still laid spread eagle over the floor next to the couch. She scratched her head absentmindedly and her mind began to scan over her memories, something she wasn't patient enough to do often. She sulked at remembering Jet's eyes bulging out of their sockets when he found out their bounty had fled. If Ed thought Jet's expression was bad then, she should have waited to see his face get disgustingly red and blotchy when he found out Ed had let it leak over the web that the Bebop had first pickings on that bounty, something that never happened with her. She was excellent when it came to computers and Jet could not figure out what had happened to make the girl make such a mistake like that.

In his bonsai room, Jet was remembering the same incident Ed was. He had been furious with the girl, but as time went on he cooled down and sulked around the ship. His anger returned when he noticed the young girl avoiding him. The anger was directed at himself for losing his cool and then at Faye for not butting in like she usually did and stopped him. _The one time I want that woman to stick her nose where it doesn't belong and her mouth stays shut. _He began to search the ship looking for Faye, purposely wanting to pick a fight and relieve some of the tension. He found her sitting languidly, her body stretched on the length of the couch. She was reading a magazine and looked very pleased with herself. He walked into the room with heavy steps, ready to have his fight.

"Come on Jet. It's obvious."

That caught the old man off guard. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" Faye chuckled at the oblivious expression on her partner's face. Her eyes left the page she was reading and focused on the man in front of her. "You're getting slow Jet."

"Stop playing games woman." He grunted and moved her legs so he could sit down. "The kid is avoiding me like…"

"The plague?"

Jet looked at her grin and got up, heading for the kitchen, "Well thanks for the help," he said sarcastically. At that Faye threw the magazine on the couch as she got up, hiding her grin so she wouldn't get the best of him. She touched his shoulder and he stopped.

"Okay, okay calm down. Who knew you were so touchy?"

He looked over his shoulder at her, "Faye," he warned.

She smiled but held her arms out in front of her in mock surrender. His answer was to simply fold his hands over his chest and wait for her to say something.

"What was your question again?"

"That's it!" He threw his hands in the air. "One last smart ass remark and you're gone!"

"Stop making idle threats Jet. We both know you _love_ me so much you would never let me go." She teased with a bad imitation of Ed. He relented uneasily and she grinned at the easiness it took for her to calm him down. _I have him in the palm of my hand._ Without knowing it she snickered.

"What was that for?"

"Huh?"

"You snorted."

She narrowed her eyes at him and grabbing his metal arm she dragged him back to the couch. "You know very well I don't snort big guy." He squirmed under her grasp in protest. "Stop fidgeting and listen to me cause this is important." With that she got his attention. "Now we both know Ed will be Ed and she will do odd things. And letting it slip we were coming for the bounty is actually, one of the sanest things she's ever done."

"You call _that_ sane? She lost us our money!"

"Don't think how she did it. Think about _why _she did it."

He made a face at her. "Just what the hell do you think I've been doing? Scratching my ass?"

She grinned but held her sarcastic remark back. What she had to tell him was important. "Calm the fuck down Jet. I swear you're gonna get an ulcer one of these days–"

"And you'll be the one to thank for that," he added accusingly.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "About Ed. She's feeling lonely Jet."

"Then why don't _you_ spend time with her. You're a girl, she's sort of a girl."

"She's not looking for that kind of relationship." Faye held her head high. "And anyway, I _do_ spend time with her. But there's only so much I can do when what she's really needing is a father-"

"Wait, wait, wait." He stepped back. "That is not my territory. She has a father remember?"

"Will you let me finish my sentence? Father _figure_, she needs a father figure."

"How is that supposed to make it all right? She has a father on earth. A man she left us for."

"And she came back. Haven't you ever wondered why she came back?"

"No. It's none of my business. Besides I was just waiting for you to force it out of her and then I'd force it out of you."

"Oh, so you're letting me do all the dirty work?" Before he could retort she held a hand up. "No matter what you say something happened back on earth to make her come back to the Bebop. And ever since she came she's been clinging to you like glue." She put her hand down and began to walk away. "That's all I'm gonna say Jet. Take it or leave it, I don't care."

Ed's continuous mumbling brought Jet out of his silent reverie. Walking over to stand over Ed he spoke, almost regretting the words that were coming out of his mouth. "Okay Ed, lets go find Faye."

The girl let out a yelp and leaped up, running straight for the hangar. "Hurry! Hurry! Ed's HUNGRY!"

Anticipating an afternoon full of Ed made Jet wince. _That kid's too damn hyper for her own good._ He picked up both their jackets and a hat for him before joining her in the Swordfish, both heading down to Mars.__

• • •

One of the bad things about Mars was how greedy everybody was. No one would soften their heart for a half starving girl. Not even when Jet hid behind lampposts so they wouldn't think he was working her. Two hours of roaming street after street had left Jet exhausted. Ed didn't help matters much with her incessant whining that had left him with a headache the size of Jupiter.

_I need a drink._ He searched his coat pocket and came out empty. _I need some cigarettes too._ He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down at a forlorn Ed.

"My tummy aches Jet person."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Make it go away."

Jet sighed loudly. _The only thing that gets rid of hunger pains is a drink. _ He spotted a bar across the street that looked half way respectable. _A drink it is. _ Ed had been dragging her feet annoyingly over four blocks now.

"Come on Ed." He picked her up without warning and gave her a piggy back ride. She squealed with the energy she had left.

"Where are we going? To get some food?"

"Nope." He felt her frown behind him. "But we're getting the next best thing."

"What?"

"A drink."

She laughed hard and her body shook with excitement. "Ed's never had one of those!"

• • •

The bar looked like any other bar. Dark, small and cramped with dirty glasses and dirtier waiters. He set Ed down before he opened the door, fixing her jacket and flipping the neck flaps over her face.

"Alright Ed. Just calm down and relax." Hearing himself say those words almost made him chuckle but he held it back, "Please." _Yeah that will make her calm down._ All Ed's response was a crooked smile and a blink.

"Here we go." Jet mumbled underneath a sigh and went in, holding Ed's hand hard, just incase she decided to bolt in the place.

Nobody looked at them when they walked in. _So far so good._ He looked around the room, checking out the people sitting on the chairs, looking around for the familiar bundle of a gun underneath clothing. He spotted an empty table against a wall in a perfect position to overlook the place incase it got rowdy. Holding on tight to Ed's hand he moved them along, not making eye contact with anybody.

_Shit! I forgot to tell Ed to keep her eyes down. _

Turning around he saw everything in slow motion. Ed smiling ridiculously at a guy with the saddest looking mo-hack he had ever seen. His face showed off more scars than skin, and they seemed to be all over each other fighting for dominance like bubbles in a boiling pot. _What do you know?_ Jet wondered absentmindedly when Ed's hand stopped inches away from the man's face, S_he noticed the same thing too._

"Hey mister person, what's that crap all over your face?"

All ready the man's hand was emerging out of his pocket with a gun. _Geez, when will these guys slow down and smell the flowers?_ Stupid question, Jet knew that as he took out his butterfly knife, not wanting to make a scene he discreetly pressed it on the man's neck, in the shadows and hidden from view from the other people.

"We don't want any trouble, so why don't you just put that gun away?" He pressed the knife tighter on the man's skin, causing a drop of blood to run down his neck. Ed watched this with fascination.

The man's eye flinched but he nodded and took both hands out, laying them flat on the table.

Jet grunted and moving Ed in front of him they started walking. Both Jet's hands were on Ed's shoulders while his eyes remained on the man.

"Oh oh. Oh oh, oh oh."

Jet looked down at Ed. "What is it?"

She looked up and shrugged, rubbing her stomach. "Someone took our seats." She pointed at the table next to the wall without looking at it.

"Ed's hungry."

"Damn!" _Is it this difficult to get a drink around here?_ They kept on walking, weaving their way through the tables until they were feet away from the once empty table. The man sitting down was cast in shadows the lamp above produced. Leaning back with his chair against the wall he rocked slightly back and forth, both hands dangling off the sides of the back of the chair. There was a pack of cigarettes and an empty glass on the table. The frost on the glass kept Jet from seeing the man's face. _Where's my luck today?_ His stomach grumbled in response.

"Bringing Ed into a bar? Real smooth Jet."

Jet choked on his own spit in surprise. That voice. Smooth, low and monotone, and above all, always sarcastic.

"Spike person!" Ed pushed Jet's hands off and flew towards the man, jumping up on him before he was ready. With one hand she hooked her arm around his back and sat on his lap, with the other she aimed the lamp hanging above them over him to get a better view.

She smiled at Spike and hugged him tight, letting go of the lamp as it rocked back and forth, moving the shadows all over the small bar. Before anyone could get a good look at the man Ed was hugging Jet's hand shot out, steadying the lamp before he himself sat down on the other chair and took one of Spike's cigarettes.

"Do you have any food?" Ed asked Spike. "Food, food, food?"

Spike cocked his eyebrow, looking over at Jet with a grin dancing on his lips. Jet grunted in response.

"As a matter of fact I do." The change in Jet's and Ed's faces was enough to make Spike laugh out loud.

"Give me! Give me! Give me!"

Ignoring Ed's pleads Spike explained, "There's a diner about two blocks down. My treat."

"My treat, yeah that's rich." Taking a deep inhale Jet couldn't hold back his grin. "You owe me more than that Spike." Both men stood up, understanding this was no kind of place to talk. Ed's hand grasped Spike's hurrying him along.

"Food, food, food." She looked back at her new found friend and smiled. "Food, food, Spike person has food, food, food."

The walk over to the diner was loud and uneventful.

• • •

"Fuck Spike. The least you could have done was written a letter-"

Spike looked up from his dinner of eggs and coffee with a smirk. "Write? What age are you living in?"

"Don't give me that smart ass reply Spike. I have enough of that on the ship already." He raised his hand up, calling the waitress over for a refill of coffee. His stomach felt full and happy. Jet looked over at Ed who was dipping her fries in ketchup.

"I see nothing's changed."

Jet looked at Spike and laughed dejectedly. "Sadly," he agreed with a little bit of humor.

"And you?" Jet took a long look at his ex-partner. Spike looked pretty much the same since the last time he saw him. His clothes? They were newer but of the same color and style. His hair? The same haircut. His attitude? The same smart ass shit he was used to dealing with from him. _Nope nothings changed. Except… it has been two years._

"Hunger must have finally done permanent damage to your brain."

"What are you babbling about?"

"I asked you a question."

"And you! And you! He asked and you Jet person." A smiling Ed said. She continued eating. Done with her fries she poked Jet on the ribs and pointed to her steak. Without even thinking about it, he grabbed her knife and fork and cut it into small, chewable pieces. Spike's eyes got round in surprise but his smirk remained the same.

"I don't think you have the right to ask me that question," he said in a deep tone. "But _you_ do have the right to answer it if I ask it."

"I've been around." Spike said in a shrug.

"Why didn't you contact us? We thought you were dead."

"Dead! Dead as a doornail," Ed clarified with a wink. Spike winked back.

"Eat your food Ed." Jet looked at Spike with a frown. He had never been the one to ask about people's lives, especially when they were Spike. Jet smiled and held out his hand. "Well, I'm glad you're alive."

Spike shook his hand but said nothing.

"I'm sorry about Julia."

Spike's eyes narrowed but that was the only change in his face.

"Move on. Move on. Move on." Both men looked at the girl as she took Jet's coffee and gulped it down. "Let's go, Faye Faye will be waiting."

At the mention of Faye's name Jet's face became clouded in anger. Spike chuckled at his reaction.

"Nothing's changed."

Jet grinned, "Oh you'd be surprised."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

Edward laughed conspiratorially with Jet. "Spike person are you coming back with us?"

Spike looked at the girl and at Jet with a shrug. "I see you're using the Swordfish. Is she giving you any trouble?"

"Nope. Who would have figured? In the hands of a real pilot and she purrs like a kitten."

"I bet," said Spike with a smirk.

"Is that how you tracked us down?"

"Not hard to track down your own ship, especially on Mars."

"You want her back?

Spike took a cigarette out and lit it, offering one to him. "Not mine anymore."

"Like hell it ain't." He took it with a genuine smile. "I just have to check some things and she's good to go. You're gonna have to go to the Bebop though."

He smacked his lips as he exhaled, "There's always a catch."

"So are we going or what? Ein-Ein will be hungry." She said waving the plastic bag of fries she saved for him.

"Let's go." Jet took her hand to cross the street, not waiting for Spike. When he heard his light footsteps fall into line with their own, he smiled.

• • •

The Bebop looked the same as it had when he had left two years ago. The smell of engine oil brought him back to those days. A lifetime ago it seemed. He was a different person now. Back then he had hope. Hope in finding Julia and hope in her love for him. Now he had a hollow space where he knew she would never return to him. He had made peace with that fact. He had never expected to be happy, not with all the things he had done. It was just retribution.

"Oh oh." Ed taunted him as they stepped up to the 'living room'. "Spike-Spike doesn't have a room."

Spike looked at the little girl.

"It's Faye-Faye's room now." She clapped and flopped down on the couch. Spike turned around the question Jet.

"Yup, it's hers now Spike. And she deserves it too; at least that's what she said."

Both men sat down, Spike on the couch next to Ed and they silently watched TV, enjoying the weird sense of dejavu the moment produced.

The evening passed on to night and the Bebop's crew fell asleep in the living room. Spike on the couch, Ed on the floor below him with Ein at her feet and Jet on the old chair. None of them had wanted to break the atmosphere, not even Ed who forced herself to not go to the restroom. That is until her incessant leg shaking forced Spike to accompany her to the john. He had to sand in front of the door, talking constantly so she would know he was still there. _Who knew the girl missed me so much? _They made their way back to the couch and the silence returned. Ed looked at the clock on the TV when it hit twenty hundred hours. Her eyes shifted to Jet quickly and then back to the TV. A greedy grin washed over face and she covered her mouth with her hand to keep from giggling. _Faye Faye's late._ Spike noticed and gave her a raised eyebrow in question but Ed just smiled at him and continued watching TV.

• • •

A beeping sound awoke Jet. He felt something sticky on his side and grimaced at the pool of spit that formed on his shoulder. The beeping came from somewhere in the kitchen. _My communicator._ He walked hazily to the kitchen and opened a channel.

"Where the hell have you been!" He hissed at the tiny screen, not wanting to wake up Ed.

"Is that you're way of saying you missed me?" Came the kind of smart ass reply Jet hated, especially in the middle of his sleeping time.

"Cut the shit Faye, you've been gone for three days! What are we suppose to do? Eat the ship?"

A confused look was his answer. "I left food for you guys in the box."

"What box?"

"Don't you remember anything Jet? You were fixing some gadget and I told you I'd be gone for awhile, came in carrying a box and you told me to put it down… any of this coming to mind?"

While Faye had been talking Jet walked over to the bay area, where he fixed the most of the things on the ship. Just like she had said, a box laid next to the wall. He opened it only to find packages of crackers and freezed dried meat and some beer.

"Oh."

Faye laughed rolling her eyes. "Idiot."

"Do you have the food with you?" Jet asked, desperate to change the subject as he carried the box back to the kitchen on one hand and with the other spoke to Faye. A gleam shone on her eyes.

"What did you do Faye," came his weary question.

"Why do you automatically think I did something bad?" She turned her nose up to the screen.

"Because you always do."

"Yeah well… just for that you're not getting you're present."

"Present! Ed wants present!" She popped her face next to Jet's and waved at the screen excitedly. "Did you bring Ed a present Faye-Faye?"

While they spoke Jet looked at Spike, leaning against the wall. Not close enough for him to be seen on the communicator.

"Yes Ed."

"What is it?"

"You'll just have to wait till I get there."

"Is it a boat?"

Spike chuckled at Ed's guess.

"No."

"A kite?"

"Wrong again."

"A-"

"Ed! Just wait till she gets here." Jet rolled his eyes and Faye laughed on the other end.

"Guess who's ba-" Ed felt Spike's hand on her shoulder and she turned to find his index finger pressed to his lips.

"Shhh."

"Back? Ed?"

The girl turned back to the screen waving and disappeared.

"What was she talking about Jet?" He was looking off screen at Spike, shaking his head in disagreement. _She's__ not gonna like us not telling her. Yet again, she's likely to bolt and with our food._ "Nothing, we went to the surface for a meal."

"With what money?"

"I had some lying around."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Think me stupid do you? If I'd tell you you'd just gamble it away."

Faye narrowed her eyes menacingly at him. "So that's how it's gonna be huh?"

Jet swallowed. He never liked that look from her. Before he could say anything else she interrupted, "I'll be there within the hour." She cut the communication link and Jet was left with static on the screen.

He turned around to find a mocking Spike behind him. "Being told what to do by that woman."

"Shut up."

• • •

The hour turned into half a day as Ed waited and waited for Faye to show up with her present.

"What time is it?"

"You can look yourself," answered Spike for the tenth time. Spike and Jet were checking out the Swordfish, Jet showing Spike some improvements he had done while Ed and Ein played in the background. Every couple of minutes she would ask Spike what time is was.

"She's in good shape."

"Of course she is. You weren't here to bang her up."

Spike smirked at his response, realizing the truth in his joke. "Still bringing in bounties?"

"Yeah…" Jet jumped off the roof of the plane and grunted when he hit the floor. "fastest way to get cash-"

"And get some kicks too." Edward walked in between the two men. "That's what

Faye-Faye always says. You have to kick them bastards where it hurts!"

"Sounds like her alright." Spike looked up at Jet, "By the way, that hour sure lasts a long time."

"What time is it?"

"Shut up Spike."

"What time is it?"

"Hey, you're funeral."

"What time is it?"

"Damn it Ed!" Both men walked further in the ship with Ein trailing behind them, leaving Ed alone with the Swordfish. She looked up at the impressive piece of machinery, pressing her hand on the cool red steel.

"What time is it ship-ship?"

• • •

"How's the market nowadays?" Spike caught a beer thrown by Jet and both men sat down on the couch, the TV on in the background.

Scratching his head Jet took a swig of beer before shrugging. "Stinks. I don't know where all these lowlifes are hiding but the Issd can't even find them to put a bounty on their heads. Most times they just file them as dead." He settled in more comfortably on the couch. "A few weeks back we had us a real good lead. Easy too, but Ed screwed it up."

"Yeah I know."

Jet looked away from the TV.

"That's how I was able to track you down."

"Figured."

"You know that was a really shitty thing you did Spike."

Spike looked up from his beer.

"Leaving me with a ship full of women. I've literally torn my hair out with the crap they pull."

Spike's gaze traveled to the top of his head, smirking at the receding hairline. "I thought Ed left for good."

"So did I. About five months after you… left, she contacted us. Told us she was bored and to come pick her up." He chuckled at the memory. "I was dead set against it, but Faye nagged and nagged, you know how she is."

"Can't believe she's still around."

There was a loud squeal that made both men jump. Ed's high pitched voice was then recognized followed by clicks on the floor, probably made by high heels. Jet and Spike stood up, facing the hallway in which the sound was coming from, from the hangar where they parked the Swordfish and Red Tail. Jet held his breath, knowing what kind of reaction Faye was gonna have.

• • •

"What is it?"

"It's a brush kid." Faye laughed with Ed as she was bombarded with hugs before even leaving her ship.

"Brush brush brush." She moved it in different angles as the light hit it before looking at Faye with greedy eyes. "Anything more for Ed?"

"Maybe."

Ed squealed so loud Faye's eardrum's tingled. "But you have to wait. First help me with these boxes."

"What's in them?"

"Food."

Ed jumped off the cockpit while carrying four boxes precariously in her arms. Faye carried one tiny white box.

"Ed's full. Ed's full full full."

Faye turned off the Redtail. "Oh yeah? What'ya eat?"

"Steak and fries and coffee. Yum! Yum! Yum! Faye person missed it."

Faye looked curiously at the young girl, knowing something was off balance.

"Where's Jet?"

"On the couch."

"Sleeping no doubt, the ass."

"Nope."

"Then what?"

"Talking."

"Talking? About what?"

"I don't know. Jet person told Ed to stay away."

"Talking to who?"

"Surprise! Surprise!" Ed's eyes got big and she whispered in Faye's ear, "surprise."

Faye bit her lip. _What's that man planning? He can't be that mad at me for being late._ "Well whatever he's planning he won't ruin my day." She told herself, whipping her hair to the side and smiling at the young girl.

"Now Ed, did ya miss me?"

The big smile she got in return was all the answer she needed. "Let's go to the kitchen, drop this crap off and let Jet put it away."

They began walking to the living room, the only way to get to the kitchen. Ed's eyes got bigger with every step they took, knowing who would be waiting there. That particular train of thought vanished when she remembered what Faye had said earlier. _More presents! _Ed felt the brush against her back pocket and smiled, already thinking of ways to play with it that didn't include her hair.

"Presents! More presents for Ed! Ed wants them now Faye-Faye." She eyed the black bag hanging over Faye's shoulder with relish, knowing whatever present she had for her was in there.

Faye couldn't help but smile at the girl's antics. "I never said you had more presents, I said _maybe_. And where's the gratitude?" Faye acted insulted. "I didn't hear you say a thank you for my fabulous gift."

• • •

Spike and Ed stood there, Jet with one hand holding the beer and with the other his cigarette. Spike stood there calmly, almost smugly, holding a beer in one hand and the cigarette dancing on his lips. They could here their voices traveling through the corridor, getting louder and louder as they got closer.

"Presents! More presents for Ed! Ed wants them now Faye Faye."

"I never said you had more presents, I said _maybe_. And where's the gratitude? I didn't hear you say a thank you for my fabulous gift."

Spike snorted at that.

"That's because I didn't say it _yet_ Faye-Faye. I'll say it when you give me the other present."

Her giggled laughter hit Spike's ears. What surprised him though was the laughter that accompanied it, low and relaxed, void of any sort of tension or stress. It was Faye's laughter, something he hadn't heard before.

Expecting to see the familiar yellow shorts and white boots he was again surprised when from the shadows came short black boots hiding underneath black pants. As she moved into the light from the bottom up, he saw her red sweater was still there, hanging off her shoulders for dear life. On the inside was a tight black wife beater, tied at the waist in a knot. Her hair was the thing that surprised him the most, long and straight, with her bangs falling gently on her face, like they did in the her home video.

"What's in that box?"

Faye was looking over her side at Ed when the young girl halted, apparently remembering who was in there. Ed stared at him expectantly and her eyes flashed from him to Faye.

Faye kept on walking, not noticing the change and whipped her head around only to stand a couple of feet in front of Spike.

Of all the things Spike could have said at that moment, Jet was sure it would be the worst.

"Yeah Faye, what's in the box? More debts to pay off?" The smirk on his face made her insides burn.

Her face was frozen, her bangs covering part of her eyes from view. Her mouth which had been smiling slowly formed a thin straight line. But that only happened for a moment, her smile returned with more force than before, puzzling everybody.

She walked over to him with ease, showing him a dazzling smile.

Wack!

The sound of her hand hitting Spike's cheek made Jet flinch. Ed followed the cigarette that flew from Spike's mouth, doing a graceful flip before landing on the floor with a quiet thud.

Her smiled turned venomous as her gaze shifted to Jet. "Here's your god damned box! You ass hole!" She turned on her heel not giving Spike another glance and left the room.

Pieces of cake were splattered all over the floor and the couch where she had thrown the box. Ed moved to examine it more carefully, opening the lid ceremoniously. All three of them turned to look at its contents, a white, fluffy cake laid massacred in the bent box.

"Regalia."

Ed and Spike looked up at Jet.

"My favorite type of cake. They only make it on the outskirts of Mars. Can't believe the broad remembered." He drew the cigarette to his lips before leaving to his bonsai room.

Ed dipped a finger in and tasted it. "Mmm. Good, good, good! Ein-Ein! Come and taste!" The dog sauntered in the room with a wag of it's tails and began licking up the pieces on floor with relish.

"Spike person, wanna try?"

His cheek still burn as he looked down at the girl. He stared at the cake, at the gesture it meant and shrugged, sitting Indian style he took the piece of cake Ed offered and began eating with his hands.

• • •

(Author's Notes)

I, like probably all of you, am a huge fan of this series. And unlike most anime endings which for a lack of a better term, suck, I actually liked the ending of the show. A few things left up in the air and of course the sad fact that the main man died, but a good ending. The thing I hate about that train though, is that if it's the ending, it's like _all_ the characters are dead then. Cuz there's nothing else left for them to do.

I like to think that Spike survived the shooting. How? You'll see. But if Faye could have survived the destruction of the moon, so can Spike survive this.

I hope you guys liked it.


	2. II

II

• • •

The small bedroom that Faye now called home was in actuality no bigger or better than the one she had had before Spike had left the Bebop.

Lying down on the bed she stared at the ceiling. Low and dark, she could touch the ceiling with her toes if she extended her leg up. Arms dangling off the bed she laid there, feeling tired and needing to sleep but not being able to. Her hand still stung from the slap she had given Spike as his welcome home present.

_That is, if he really believed the Bebop was him home, and if he really wanted to stay. _Faye was sure he would be gone sooner than later. The fact he was alive unsettled her. She had said her peace with his death two years ago, mourned for her fallen comrade and moved on. _Damn him! _The tiny blinking light from her comm. unit illuminated the tiny room in green, the light too weak for proper light but too bright for her to ignore. With a groan she shoved it underneath her pillow and once again laid down.

Recalling her actions earlier that night she pouted at her ruined present. All her effort in buying that stupid Regalia cake for Jet and her infamous anger had gotten the better of her and ruined her surprise.

She laughed bitterly at the memory of the poor little white box being hurled through the air.

She, who never did anything for anybody, had planned with relish how and where she would give Jet his cake. She had envisioned Jet's big smile and rough laugh when she would have presented the box to him. Imagined the puzzled, curious expression he would have given her before ripping it open.

She had planned up to the last detail. She would be sitting on the couch; Ed probably would be at her feet with Ein, Jet sitting on the chair, all of them watching something dumb on TV, when with a grin she would reveal the box, gleaming white and expensive.

Faye let out an exasperated sigh. _It was all Spike's fault! _Her hands balled into fists. D_amn him! _She always lost her tempter with him, always.

Turning her face over to look at the far wall she studied her boxes, all placed to look like a dresser. Her clothes folded on the top along with her makeup and personal things. She tried to make this room resemble her room as a child. She even had a doll sitting on the edge of the dresser, just like the old one.

Faye sighed and rolled her eyes at herself. She felt foolish. Foolish at her attempts at creating some sort of family, foolish at trying to be her old self, and foolish at having exposed herself to Spike.

She'd just have to bite her tongue till it bled if necessary; anything was preferable to being ridiculed by him. _I just wish I could wipe that goddamn smirk off his face. _That's exactly what she was thinking of when she slapped him. That thought stayed with her when without her noticing it; she fell into a light sleep. The kind of sleep where your mind is still active and when you wake up you feel no more rested than when you fell asleep in the first place.

• • •

**Scratch.**

Faye wrinkled her nose unconsciously and turned to her side.

**Scratch.**

She groaned softly.

**Tap. Tap. Scratch.**

Her eyes opened calmly.

**Scratch. Tap. Tap.**

"Who is it?" She asked, her voice throaty and sore.

**Scratch.**

_Fuck. _"Ed go to sleep. I'm not in the mood right now."

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

"I'm not kidding." Her voice got higher in pitch.

**Tap.**

"What?" She opened the door in a huff. Ed was crouched on the floor like a cat, her eyes wide and alert. Faye was blocking any entrance so Ed opened her legs like a curtain and moved through them, bouncing on the bed, sitting Indian style, her hands behind her back.

"Ed." Faye closed the door behind her. "I'm not in the mood for your games."

"Edward's not playing Faye-Faye."

Faye blinked. Ed only called herself Edward when something was bothering her. She sat on the bed next to her uncomfortably, silently cursing the lack of space. "Alright kid. Spit it out, what's wrong?"

"Edward doesn't know what to do. Nope, nope, nope."

"Do? About What?"

Ed's gaze fell to the doll on the 'dresser'."

"Ed? What do you have behind your back?"

The girl looked at Faye. "I'll tell Faye-Faye if she gives me my present."

Faye smirked. _That's more like the Ed I know. You were beginning to scare me. _"How about if you give me what you're hiding behind you back and I will give you your present?" She used the sweetest tone she could muster at that moment.

Ed shook her head. "Nah ah, Faye-Faye is sneaky."

Faye felt like bopping the girl against the head. She really wasn't in any mood for this. "We'll count to three and exchange them at the same time alright?"

Ed nodded.

Faye leaned down, picking up the bag she had dropped on the side of the bed and dug around, looking for Ed's gift and placing it behind her back quickly so she wouldn't see it.

"Ready? On, two–"

"Ed wants to count!"

"Alright, go ahead," came Faye's tired answer.

Ed clasped her hands together. "One... Two..." Pause. "Four, thirty-eight–"

"Three." Faye interjected.

Both grabbed the others object in a flash and turned their backs to one another. Ed held in her hands a doll, almost identical to the one Faye had. She looked at the one in her hands and compared it to Faye's. Same porcelain skin, same style dress, same bow in the hair. Ed smiled, she liked her present.

Faye looked down, surprised and a bit disappointed to find Ed's comm. unit. With a frown she turned on the screen and saw a message from earth. She looked back at the young girl only to find her peaking over her shoulder.

"Damnit Ed! Don't do that!" It was almost eerie how quiet Ed could be when she wanted to.

"Read the message. Read the message."

"I was just going to before you almost gave me a heart attack." Giving Ed a look that could kill Faye looked down and pressed a button to see the screen emitting a photograph of earth. "What is this place?"

"Ed doesn't know, but father person sent it." Ed pointed down the left corner of the screen. It did in fact have her father's signature on it. The photograph taken was of a field of green pastures, the ocean barely seen on the edge. A seagull was caught in between a dive.

_That's strange. This picture must have been taken before the moon was crushed. There's nothing like that now, it's all hard earth and rock. _

"What's Faye-Faye thinking?"

"Huh?" She looked up at Ed. "Nothing... It's just that, your father couldn't have possibly taken this picture. Well... not unless he was at least seventy years old."

"Like Faye-Faye?"

"Hey! Watch it! I might realistically be seventy something but I don't look a day over twenty-three."

Ed giggled and moved further down in the bed, giving Faye a chance to turn around and face her more comfortably.

"So what do you think this is?"

Ed shrugged. "Dunno, dunno, but Ed has to find out."

"I'm sure if you tell Jet he can help-"

"No!" Ed stood up on the bed, covering Faye's mouth with her hand. "Only Faye-Faye can know! Only Faye-Faye!"

Faye nodded slowly, surprised by the girl's reaction. Ed sat back down, the desperate look in her eyes gone, replaced by a smile. "Pinky swear."

_Huh? _Faye looked at the pinky Ed extended towards her. _Doesn't this kid know me? I don't keep most of my promises, actually I don't keep any of them, especially a childish pinky swear. _Thinking more deeply about it Faye shrugged and agreed. _If it makes her happy._

"Okay then Faye-Faye will help Ed!"

"What? I didn't agree to helping-"

"Yes you did! Yes, yes yes."

Faye sighed exhausted. "I'm tired Ed. We'll talk about it in the morning alright?"

"It's already morning Faye-Faye."

Faye looked at the digital clock on the comm. unit she was holding. The red numbers blared 9 hundred hours. "Well then, we'll talk about it in the afternoon." She shoved her out of the bed and laid down facing the wall.

"But Faye-Faye has to learn the plan."

Faye muffled something unrecognizable in protest.

"Faye person has to convince Jet to fly to earth without telling him the truth."

"Earth?" She turned back around. "That's the last place I wanna go." She snorted. "Nice try but find someone else.

"No!" Grabbing the pillow she whacked her back with it hard.

"Listen here you little" The look Ed was giving her was exasperating. It was the same look she used to con people into giving her what she wanted. She had taught Ed how to do it awhile back when she had assisted her on a job. _Fuck. Caught by my own trick. That'll teach me to be nice to the kid. _

"What am I suppose to tell him?"

"Dunno, dunno. Faye-Faye will think of something."

"You give me too much credit kid." Rolling on her back she sighed, closing her eyes. She felt something heavy on her right. Opening one eye she saw Ed laying next to her, hugging the doll tightly. _Kids.__ You can't live with them, you can't live with them. _Closing her eyes she fell asleep.

• • •

_What am I doing? I can't go back to earth. Nothing good comes out of that place. I'm a shining example of that. _Faye continued pacing the living room. _And just what am I going to say? Hey asshole. I need to go to earth. _Faye shuddered and plopped down on the couch. _Yeah right. Jet'll tell me to go to hell. _Studying her nails absentmindedly she frowned. _I'll just make up something when I see him. _Most of her best moments had been on the fly. No thinking, just do it. That was her motto. Thinking got her in trouble. Thinking about earth, her past, her old weak self. An image of Ed flashed through her mind.

Faye had had the luxury of remembering her past, but Ed was still trying to sort out hers. Even if she didn't admit it, the young girl was lost. Faye didn't like to admit it to anyone; much less to herself but she saw a lot of herself in Ed.

Not in the way she acted. _Heavens no._But in the little things she did. A smile here, a sigh escaping when she thought no one was looking. Once Faye had caught Ed with a far away look she had never seen on her face before. Once Faye's father had caught her with a similar look when she was a little girl. There was no way she could get out of this, but as she tried to stand up to go find Jet, her legs wouldn't work. _Instead of going to earth I'd prefer to, I don't know, suck up to- _

"Look who's up and doing nothing?"

_Spike._

"What do you want?"

"I'd say another slap but I don't want you to sprain your wrist dear." There was something dark in the way he said that as he sat down on the chair, turning on the TV and staring at it.

She felt footsteps behind her and looked back. "It's late to be just be waking up, even for you Faye." Jet said, as he looked her over. She was wearing a tiny t-shirt and shorts.

"Who asked you?" Faye felt cornered.

"Don't expect me to cook you breakfast."

"Don't worry about that Jet," Spike began. "Vampires don't need edible food. They suck out people's blood right Faye? And while she's add it, their hopes dreams and bank accounts.

The amount of pressure Faye was exerting on her tongue to keep from lashing out at him was down right painful. All three of them focused on the TV, Faye biting her lip, not wanting to tell Jet about going to earth with Spike in the room. She was suddenly very aware of his body just feet away from hers and the thought was suffocating.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at Jet, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah why?"

"You're sweating."

Spike didn't look at them but Faye knew he was listening. Her hand went up on her forehead. She was sticky and hot. She felt her stomach burn with anger. _Not only are these assholes acting like nothings happened but to top it all off I look like shit! _She stood up, the couch moving slightly with the force of her movement.

Both men turned to look at her. Turning to Jet she stated. "We're going to earth."

"What? Where did this come from? Faye!"

She was half way out when she stopped not bothering to turn around she looked over her shoulder. "If he's aloud," she began pointing at Spike, "to return and act like nothings changed then I can say we're going to earth.

Jet let out a groan and sat down where she had been just moments before. "Why does she want to go to earth? I thought that was the last place she'd want to go.

"Why?"

Jet swallowed, not exactly sure if he should tell Spike this. "You weren't here long enough to see Faye try and deal with her past." The pause that followed made Spike turn to look at him.

The words didn't come easily to Jet. "It was like she was two different people. One moment she'd be the same smart ass woman we'd known and the next she'd be shy and polite." Jet scratched his beard. "It was like she didn't know who to be. The girl of the past or the woman she thought she was." The old man looked at Spike. "And here you come and piss her off.

"What did I do?"

"Hey man. She was really worried about you." The incredulous look Spike gave him offended Jet. "She was! Hey, you know it's not like me to defend a woman, especially a woman like Faye but when it's the truth it's the truth. I don't know if she was all jumbled up with her past or what, but she took your death really hard.

The smirk slowly faded from Spike's face. "So what do you want me to do about it?"

"Apologize."

The silence returned and they returned to pretending to watch the TV. A few minutes passed before he broke the silence. "Are we going to earth?"

Scratching his head Jet replied, "Yeah."

• • •

It had been more than a year since Faye had laid eyes on the big blue ball she recognized as earth. Out of all the planets in her mind, earth was the most beautiful. Not only because it was the place she was born, but also because it gave her a warm tingle deep inside.

Standing in the cockpit Faye looked out the ship through the window, her chest tightening when the ship was close enough to see the moon belt orbiting around the earth.

She must have been one of the last persons to see the moon intact. _And what a beautiful moon it was. Because of it we had waves in the ocean; we had fish in the sea. _After the big gate accident that caused the moon to explode, most of the earth was battered by fragments of moon hitting the surface and killing most everything. And because the moon was what caused the waves in the ocean, without its magnetic pull most sea animals died off. The people of earth built machines that crated artificial waves but they weren't able to measure the amount of success it had. For all they knew nothing was living underneath the great expanse of water.

In some oceans people had spotted things swimming under the water, in some areas the water was so stagnant nothing could survive in it.

Faye had loved the ocean as a child. As a kid she spent every Sunday with her family by the beach or in a boat. Her father had taught her deep sea diving and she would go almost daily for years. Her mother always worried about her but she didn't care. It was a whole new world under the water. It was the closest thing she could get to another planet. Young Faye wanted nothing more than to travel and see the galaxy, the only planets inhabitable on her time where Venus and Mars. Planets father away like Jupiter and Saturn where pet projects. Mars was first on her list of places to visit. _Little did I know. _

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost Ed." Spike answered from his sitting position a few feet behind and to the left of Faye. Jet was sitting facing the wall to their right, trying to get the permit for landing cleared up.

Spike was monitoring the distance between them and the fragments of moon, making sure they didn't drift too close. Ed was looking over his shoulder, impatient to land.

Tired of sitting in her room Faye had walked into the cockpit, ready with a sarcastic remark when the view of the earth took her breath away. Not really noticing Spike, Jet or Ed she walked up to the glass, lost in thought she stood there hugging herself tightly.

Hearing Ed's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Faye sighed and looked away. It hurt too much to think of her past.

"What's Faye-Faye thinking? Ed wants to know."

"Hmm?" She looked up at the Ed, not being bale to avoid looking at Spike as well. "I" The look Spike was giving her bordered on something she wasn't sure about. She wasn't sure if he was looking at her or just looking up.

"Okay we're cleared." Jet turned of the screen he had been looking at and put his hands behind his head. "Hope this isn't some wild goose chase Faye.

She didn't answer him but looked at Ed. The young girl shifted and let go of Spike's chair. Spike didn't miss the little interaction between the two females. He couldn't make anything of it at the moment so he stored it in the back of his mind for another time.

"Ready to take us in?" Jet asked.

"Okey doke." He looked up at Faye with a grin. "Can you move out of my way? You're blocking my view.

Faye had turned around to take another look at the earth. Hearing Spike's voice made her jump. "Yeah, okay." She walked out of the room quickly, hiding her face.

"What's up with her? I was only kidding." He looked back at Jet. Spike was certain his little joke would bring Faye out of whatever funk she was in. _Didn't she know by now you drive a ship like the Bebop through monitors? _

"Have you apologized yet?"

"It ain't my style."

"You better make it your style."

"I don't see her apologizing for hitting me."

"Damn Spike!" Jet stood up ready to leave the cockpit. "I swear you two act like five year olds. You fix this yourself and you fix it quick. I'm tired of this shit. The faster you apologize the faster she tells us why the hell we're here and the faster we can get the hell off this planet.

Spike saluted the back of Jet's retreating figure. "Yes sir."

• • •

"Okay children. We broke through the atmosphere, now what?" Came Spike's voice echoing throughout the ship's communication system. Now alone and still sitting down in the cockpit Spike leaned back, hiking his feet up on the monitor he opened a pack of cigarettes.

"Yummy! Nothing like that fresh nicotine smell to wake you up in the morning." He tapped the case on his palm and took one out, examining it with appreciation. In one quick motion he clicked on the lighter and inhaled. One hand now behind his head he looked out the window, observing the bright blue sky of earth. That's one of the things he couldn't really get used to. That blue. In Mars, at the most the sky was a foggy gray and he liked it that way. It made him think he was safe in the shadows.

Earth was just too bright and cheery for his liking. And now with the moon meteors falling like raindrops it was truly one of the last planets he wanted to visit.

Closing his eyes for a little cat nap he froze when tiny fingers touched the hand behind his head, placing a piece of paper there. Without even turning around he knew the culprit was gone. He felt her light erratic steps make their way to the door and out. Opening his eyes he took another drag of his cigarette, leaving it to dangle between his lips as he unfolded the piece of paper. Scribbled childishly were two numbers.

"Coordinates?" He typed them in the computer and sure enough they pinpointed a destination. He frowned slightly. "We'll I'll be a monkey's uncle. Now what does Ed have to do with all this?" He remembered the look Ed had shared with Faye. "Tsk tsk. Keeping secrets are we ladies? He thought about not cooperating with all this and speaking with Jet but he just... didn't really care one way or another. He had come to the Bebop because that was the only place he had left to go to. _Was it too much to ask for things to be simple just this once? _But it never was simple with women involved. Faye was truly going out of her way in making him feel like hell. _I feel so loved. _

His cigarette almost out, he squashed it under his foot. Turning to leave he caught a shadow by the doorway.

"Ed I know you're there."

He heard feet shuffling and Ed's red mane of hair was the first thing he recognized followed by the girl herself, walking in like she had lead weights attached to her feet.

"Did Spike-Spike get Edward's message?"

"Yes he did." He took another cigarette out.

"Okay." She turned to walk away but his cough stopped her.

"Can I talk to you a moment Ed?"

Shoulders slumped she dragged her way to his side, sitting down on one of the armrests.

"Now here's my question." He began slowly, not wanting to run her off. Her face scrunched up, like she were expecting a blow to the face. She held her breath waiting for him to ask his question. "How have you been?

Her eyes popped open like rubber balls and the smile he remembered so vividly returned in full force. "Spike-Spike wants to know about Ed?

"Sure." He said flicking the ash on the floor.

"Hee! Hee!" She laughed delighted at his attention. "Ed's been good good good! Jet person's been teaching Ed about ships and Faye person has been teaching Ed about-" Spike was studying her very carefully and she had him on baited breath when she stopped, catching herself just in time. Her eyes got wide as she caught on to his game. He was milking her up for information. _Ooh, Spike-person's sneaky just like Faye-Faye. _

"Ed?"

Bringing one leg up, she began picking at it. "Has Ed ever told Spike person about what happened after she came back to the Bebop?"

"No, I don't believe I've heard that one."

"Well," she began talking to her foot more than to Spike. "When Ed came back the ship was haunted."

Spike almost coughed. "Did you say haunted?"

"Yup! Haunted. Haunted. Haunted!" She raised her arms up in excitement. "The ghost walked the ship night and day. Spooky!" She finished with a special effect on her voice.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, yes!"

Spike decided to go along with the story. He didn't have anything better to do anyway.

"What did the ghost want?"

"The ghost wanted to be saved. He roamed the ship making Jet person and Faye-Faye very sad."

Spike stared at the young girl with a serious expression, the cigarette forgotten.

"Jet person would fix everything he could get his little fingers on and Faye would cry and cry." Ed nodded to herself. "Cry and cry and cry. Fix and fix and fix. And the ghost wouldn't go away. They would see him everywhere, in their shadows, on their food, in their dreams.

"What happened?"

"Ed came!" she said happily. "The genius that is Ed knew that she would have to talk with the ghost. Tell ghost person that he was making everybody sad and lonely. So she looked for him night and day. Day and night... Night and day... Spooky!" She gauged his reaction, satisfied with his expression she continued. "But Ed was wrong.

"Wrong?" _She never admits that. What's she talking about? _

"Yessiree! Yes, yes, yes. Because Ed thought ghost person was a ghost but he wasn't. He was just a lost man. Lost, lost, lost. So Ed told lost person to go and find himself and when he was ready to come back.

"Come back?"

"To the Bebop."

"I see... And you spoke to him?

"No silly." She waved a condescending hand at him. "I _am _speaking to him.

The dumbfounded look Spike gave her made her giggle. "The ghost was Spike person! And Spike-Spike came back! Back! Back! Back!

Spike's head felt like it was stuck between pliers and they were slowly turning his brain to jelly.

"There's only one problem," she said sticking up her index finger close to his face. "Jet person and Faye-Faye are still sad." She nodded and Spike unconsciously nodded with her.

"Arriving at specified location on planet earth. Need permission to land. Contact id 24972.

"Yeah! We're here! We're here!" Ed danced around the cockpit, completely forgetting what she had told Spike moments before.

"What's this crap about contacting someone?" Jet poked his head in, annoyed.

Spike pulled himself together. The questions he had for Ed had to wait till they were alone. "I don't know," he looked at the monitor. "Seems we have found a fully operational city.

"What? On earth? Since when can anybody live long enough to build a city with all these meteors destroying everything?" Spike got up from his seat and Jet sat down, punching some keys on the dashboard a face popped up on the screen.

"State your reason for landing here."

Jet and Spike looked at each other, completely caught off guard. There hadn't been any type of real enforcement on earth since the gate incident. The planet was too unpredictable for anybody to gain control and keep it.

"How'd you find this place?" Jet murmured to Spike.

"Luck."

Spike smirked at the expression on Jet's face. He shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Hello? I don't have all day. Either you state your reason or get the hell out." The face on the screen said impatiently.

Jet swallowed his insults and turned back to the screen with a smile. "I'm sorry. Yes our reason is we are visiting a- uh"

"Mother." Spike said.

"Yes mother. Wait, mother?"

"Yes mother."

"Whose-"

"You're mother," Spike clarified before the man on the screen could figure out their lie. He turned to look at the man. "She's sick, very sick. And Jet here," he patted Jet's chest empathetically, "is very worried about her. He just doesn't like to cry in public, ya know how it is.

The man on the screen looked at Jet, mistaking the anger he saw radiating from his eyes as worry.

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know. You can park at gate 7." The man looked at Jet, "Hey man, you have my sympathies." With that he cut communication.

"Sick mother!" He slapped Spike's hand away from his chest. "Is that all you could think of?

"Hey, hey, don't blame me." Spike backed away playfully from Jet. "You were stuttering and breaking up there. Besides, the sick mother routine always works.

"Why couldn't it have been your mother?"

"Because there's no fun in that."

"Fun for who? I'm not laughing."

Spike smirked, "But I am."

• • •

_An underground city, I never would have thought it. _

The Bebop crew had left their ship parked on the gate and were scouting the city randomly. None knew exactly why they were there for, including Faye. To make up for that very small but important fact she increased her smart ass act ten fold so the two men would leave her alone.

As they walked she looked at the back of Ed's head as the young girl walked ahead of her. Since leaving the ship she hadn't had a single chance of talking to her in private. Her gaze traveled from the young girl's head to the head of the man she was holding hands with, Spike.

_Since when is Spike the touchy feely type? _She narrowed her eyes instantly. _That man wants something. _She just couldn't figure out what. But he could always choose the worst times for his little games.

Jet walked next to her with a scowl on his face. Faye knew she couldn't keep him in the dark for much longer. She'd have to think of a pretty good lie and soon. Sighing quietly she looked at her surroundings. As far as she could tell the city was built in old subway tunnels. The ceiling was a good one hundred feet up and the air circulating was as close to a cool breeze as you could get underground. The actual train tracks where covered and made into roads. The crew had learned that using stored heat energy from the earth's core; the people of earth had been able to create a force field around their city. It served to deflect the meteors that happened to fall on the surface of their city. That's how they had been able to live in relative peace.

Faye felt a surge of pride at that without knowing exactly when the patriotism to her planet had been born in her.

"So where are we going Faye?" Spike asked her. They had stopped walking and she almost bumped into him.

"Ed wants to go there." She pointed her hand at a good-looking hotel a few buildings down from where they were standing.

Gazing over the fancy doors and the doorman at the entrance Jet knew it'd be expensive. "I don't think we can afford that Ed."

"But Ed wants to go _there."_

"No Ed. How about-" The look Ed had given Faye days before was given to Jet. Faye held back a smirk as she watched Ed do her magic on the old man. _Works like a charm. _

"See you've been teaching your little tricks to the kid." Spike was suddenly next to her. She felt his breath on her cheek and jumped before she could control herself.

"Damn Spike!

"A little jumpy aren't you?"

"With a mug like yours who wouldn't be?" She moved away from him trying to maintain her composure. She hadn't gotten used to Spike being alive yet. His presence gave her goose bumps all over.

"Okay we're going to that hotel, the" he squinted his eyes.

"I think you need glasses Jet."

"Screw you. I just need to get closer. Nobody can see that sign from all the way over here.

"The Villa Ikar," Spike and Faye said simultaneously. Jet looked at both of them slack jawed.

"Shut up." He took Ed's hand and began walking briskly. Faye and Spike followed behind him, nipping at his heels.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to insist you take an eye exam before you pilot the Bebop again. It's just not safe." Spike said loud enough for Jet to hear. At seeing his back tense up he smiled.

"Don't take it hard Jet," Faye continued. "When a man reaches a certain age it's only natural for him to start going blind.

"Glasses might give you an edge with the ladies." Spike said.

"Sure they can." Faye agreed. "No woman can resist a balding man with four eyes.

"Go to hell!

Spike and Faye couldn't contain their laughter any longer. The madder Jet got, the more Spike and Faye laughed. Even Ed joined in, making Jet's eyes bulge and that vein in his forehead swell up grotesquely.

"Here! Take the kid, I need a break from you little smart ass shits." With that he walked down the street, hands in his pockets and his head looking straight ahead. Ein decided to follow him, giving a glance back with her tongue hanging out to the side.

"Aw come one! We were only kidding." Spike called out to him with a chuckle.

"Shit. I think he's really pissed of this time."

Faye and Spike laughed looking at each other for an instant. In that instant the awkwardness returned but before it could take its full effect Ed spoke up.

"Let's go already! Ed wants to take a nap." Taking Faye's hand she pulled her along.

"Wait a minute Ed." Faye shook off Ed's grasp and tucked her black wife beater in her jeans and zipped up her red jacket. Looking at the mocking look Spike was giving her she scowled. "I'm just making myself presentable." She looked him up and down. "You better do something about that shirt. It's all wrinkled," she looked down, "and your pants are faded.

She looked over at Ed. "Don't you have any shoes?

"Ed doesn't wear shoes."

Looking at the guests leaving and entering the hotel Spike realized Faye was right. Most of them were snobs and the management wouldn't allow them to stay there if they didn't at least have shoes on.

Faye leaned down, taking off her black boots. "Put these on." She told Ed.

"What are you going to wear?

Faye opened her black bag and took out a brush, a tiny steam iron and a pair of black heels.

"Can you pull a rabbit out of there too?" Spike asked with a smirk.

Faye smirked back, rolling her eyes. She dropped the shoes on the floor and slid her feet in; now at eye level with Spike she turned on her little steam iron and began ironing out his shirt. First smoothing out the fabric with a flat palm and then going over it with the steamer. Strangely enough Spike remained quiet and cooperative, something Faye found strange but wasn't dumb enough to point out. When he looked half way presentable she nodded and turned to Ed, combing some of her hair into place.

"Okay lets go."

"I sleep with Faye!" Ed called out, looking at Spike.

"You'd be the first one willing.

• • •

(Author's Notes)

For those people who wrote me asking if this was Spike/Faye fic the answer to that is I don't know. I am consciously not starting it out that way because I don't think there was any love of that kind in either Spike or Faye when the series ended. That isn't to say it couldn't develop though. =)


End file.
